R5P2C4 Starting Weight 150.6
Yesterday – 143.6
Today – 143.6
0.0 lb LOSS Overnight
4.6 lb UNDER LIW of Round Five Cycle 3 (148.2)
7.0 lb Lost Since Start of R5C4 (VLCD) 09/02/08
107.2 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Another goose egg.

Totally ok – just been so super busy I haven’t had time to sit down and take a breath.  My sleep hasn’t been all that great either and I ate late – once again.  Oh well, it is what it is.  And again, I am not worried.

Just to let the blogging community know, the future of my life will be very non existant internet wise on Wednesdays and Thursdays from now on.  I will still check in, just wont be active anywhere.

My menu for yesterday:

• Coffee with 2% Milk – Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa
• Pork Loin grilled along with some grilled zuchinni

Working on a couple of articles in my head, probably early next week will be the time for it to be released.  They are some doosies!  Take care!

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R5P2 Starting Weight 176.8
Yesterday – 165.4
Today – 165.4
0.0 lb LOSS Overnight
3.4 lb Over LIW of Round Four (162.0)
11.4 Lost Since Start of R5C1 (VLCD) 05/06/08
85.4 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Went thru the weekend in this stall. Oh well, it happens. Something is happening tho. Even tho I am not at my LIW yet, I had issues with clothes over the weekend. All of a sudden, nothing was fitting. I mean NOTHING – I had to go somewhere early Saturday morning and I pulled out my regular outfit, and it didn’t fit, so I said, ok, let me grab this … and that didn’t fit either. So even tho I am smack dab in the middle of a stall, my body is doing something. So as long as it’s doing something I am a happy camper.

Today? I am going to try a P2 steak day, let’s see what happens – give myself a little jump start to things.

It’s time to continue on to our discussions on Superfoods!

Superfoods – Spinach

Popeye isn’t the only one that loves spinach – it’s been classified as a superfood for decades. Our mothers must have known something about spinach long before we discovered just how truly wonderful this superfood is. Spinach has a very interesting history.

Did you know that spinach actually originated in the Middle East, most likely Persia (Modern Day Iran) – it was brought to Spain from the Moors sometime around 800AD and 1200AD. In the USA, spinach started to be cultivated around the very early 1800′s. In the 1600′s spinach became the favorite vegetable of Catherine de Medici (Italian Renaissance) – when she left her home in Florence, Italy to marry, she brought with her her own cooks that knew many different ways to cook spinach – because of this, many dishes that are served on a bed of spinach are called “a la Florentine” – isn’t that interesting?

So what are the benefits of spinach? To know this, we have to be familiar with what phytonutrients are – we haven’t done a definition on that yet.

“Phyto” comes from the Greek word “plant” – so basically the nutrients derived from plants. These basic nutrients are what give us the benefits of health. There are different classifications of phytonutrients, something I will go into at another time. What is interesting, is that phytonutrients are not considered essential nutrients (fat, proteins, vitamins and minerals) – but they ARE necessary for us to promote better health. Essential nutrients are needed just for us to live. See the difference?

Phytonutrients can act as antioxidants (we learned about this the other day), they can stimulate detox enzymes and the immune system, they can positively affect hormones, and they can acts as antibacterial or antiviral agents. So in other words, phytonutrients are important for us.

What does this have to do with spinach? Spinach is LOADED with different classifications of phytonutrients. Let’s just look at some of them:

• Lutein – this is an antioxidant phytonutrient (WOW, double bang for the buck) – what does lutein do? It has been shown to help with ARMD (age related macular degeneration) which is a leading cause of blindness in older people.
• Folate – wow, this is pretty powerful stuff here. This phytonutrient helps produce and maintain new cells. Gosh, I wonder how important that would be to our health? Also, folate helps reduce the blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine – which has been proven to be a risk factor in developing cardiovascular disease.
• Coenzyme Q – spinach is LOADED with this – this has been particular helpful in treating people with Parkinsons disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes, cancer.

I have only skimmed the tip of the iceberg here.

American’s as a whole (culture) eat way too much acid producing foods – all of the junk food eaten are all acid producing foods. It’s been reported that cancer loves to live in an acid rich environment – whatever we can do to make our bodies more alkaline will be better for our health. Spinach is one way to accomplish this task. Spinach is loaded with alkaline abilities!

My goal when done with the protocol is to get at least 15 servings of greens a day (1 cup equals one serving), with the majority of this being spinach, this wonderful superfood. My goal is to make at least three green smoothies with each one containing at least 5 oz of spinach. That will take some getting used to but it’s worth it for me.

Tomorrow: Dark Chocolate – for real? A superfood?

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday – 170.6
Today – 170.0
0.6 lb LOSS Overnight
5.4 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
14.4 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
80.8 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

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Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

So I lied, I stuck with the exact same thing to see if I could see another BIG loss! Coffee and Half and Half, apple and a half a grapefruit. Lunch was Ground Beef Patty with Lettuce Salad / Mustard Dressing. Dinner was a Creole Catfish. The only thing different is that I used Stevia to sweeten my mustard dressing rather than the regular Sweet and Low because I was out.

A total of around 460 calories divided this way: 11 Fat, 48 Carbs, 45 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! I actually have a date! Look for it on February 15th! WOO HOO!!!

Let’s not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB – join in on the fun! If you haven’t signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Gonna leave it up for the weekend, and then switch it on Monday, in fact, I will continue to add a new question every week until they are done on Mondays! I think that works! Any others willing to approach this subject?

Foods on Phase 2 – Do Some Work Better Than Others?

Any Loss is a Good Loss!

It was a REALLY good run! I am not even at my two weeks on yet, and I am maintaining a very nice average, so I am thrilled! I was kinda hoping to see a 1″6″something, but that will just make when it does come that much more sweeter! Just for the sake of numbers, my average loss per day is 1.44 – and here are the other numbers we have been keeping track of:

Day 10 (Complete) – Round 4 = 7.81% Body Weight Loss
Day 10 (Complete) – Round 3 = 6.31% Body Weight Loss
Day 10 (Complete) – Round 2 = 5.78% Body Weight Loss
Day 10 (Complete) – Round 1 = 4.55% Body Weight Loss

Playing Mental Catchup

I think this week has been a bit too prolific for me to come up with yet another profound post. I scoured the internet this morning for something that would tickle the muse inside of me, and yet nothing was so much as making her smile.

All of a sudden, I was typing a response to a friend over at the HCG2 Yahoo Group, and it hit me! Yes, I could see in my minds eye the huge grin on my muses face!

There are times when I write I seem to be on a roll, and then suddenly, I can’t think of a single thing to share. I liken it to how there will be a few days of losses on the protocol, and then suddenly it stops. No rhyme or reason, just dead in it’s tracks. We didn’t do anything different, just following the program, yet it stops. We all KNOW that it’s just a day of playing catchup.

Well, today is my day to play mental catchup. Regroup, refocus, really digest all that has happened over the last week. And when I stopped to do that things really do become more clear.

I have had some thoughtful posts:

• Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes – 01.31.08 – D10P2R4
• Diet Sabotage – 01.30.08 – D09P2R4
• Success in 21 Days – 01.29.08 – D08P2R4
• Do You Dream About Your Weight? – 01.28.08 – D07P2…
• Are You Prepared? – 01.27.08 – D06P2R4

I have reached a couple of milestones:

• Total loss from start of 80.8 pounds
• Fitting into Size 14 Pants
• I am no longer OBESE, only OVERWEIGHT

I have found a new support buddy:

• http://smacmolina.blogspot.com/

I have come to really know better a few fellow bloggers that have really brightened my day – in fact, I have a “date” with one of them to Fly together this morning!

These things are nothing to sneeze at, they are all just really wonderful things that have transpired this week. Focusing on them is not a problem. Being able to sit back and ponder over all the things that have been good this week is a great reward for a job well done.

So this is what I am going to do, sit back and bask in the good of the week.

I have already listed the good that has happened this week in my life, why don’t you spend a bit of time doing the same on your blog or forum journal or shoot me an email but make sure I know you have done the same.

Playing Mental Catchup is a good thing.

On to my commenter’s – these are my responses to yesterday’s comments:

Lili - If you do go to FlyLady, do not get overwhelmed by the emails, they can be prolific. Just learn the principles. The biggest thing I have gotten out of her philosophy is that anyone can do anything for just 15 minutes. I plan my days like that. Especially with stuff I don’t like to do. Yeah, 80 lbs is pretty amazing!!!

Mary – Thanks girl! My ‘feeding’ times are usually coffee throughout the morning (around 3 – 4 cups) and then I eat my fruit with my lunch around 12pm – 1pm, try to eat my fruit as a snack between 3pm and 4pm, and then I try to concentrate on dinner around 6pm. I know for me if I eat any later than 7pm, things just don’t work right overnight. Slower losses or maybe even none. I am sure it has something to do with the whole digestion issue.

Jenn – HA! My husband always says “It’s All Gooooood” – HA! Maybe they are more alike then we think eh??? Girl? I can’t even go into here what I think of you, I would get all mushy gushy and that just wouldn’t be right. ROFL

Wendy – MY CYBER SISTER – sorry to make you cry, I had my share that day, people NEED to join me!!! You girl are MY inspiration. I have done nothing but follow your skirt tails ever since we started, I am like, I wanna be Wendy when I grow up, you fine thing you!!!

Shelly – HA! I absolutely REFUSE to go into a store yet to buy clothes. Thank goodness I am bigger than JPS and she hands me down her stuff!!! And my sister too, bless their hearts! But isn’t it nice to look??? And just KNOW you will be able to do it soon???

Regina - We have a date now, don’t stand me up! I am wanting to FLY today!!! WOO HOO FOR US! And thank YOU for being who you are! I can’t wait to meet you AND Stacey! WOO HOO FOR ALL OF US – shhhh, don’t say that too loud Jenn will get all jealous…

Becca – oh shoot, I thought I was all cried out! Look at you bringing the flood gates again! Girl, it’s so awesome to see all of us making this journey with SUCCESS!!! I am SO VERY THANKFUL for all of you out there – our community is positively the mostest!!!

Good day, eh!

Biz

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